Joshua Kaplan
I’m a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at ProPublica, where I write about the government, money and power.
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What I Cover
I cover powerful institutions and the people who are seeking to influence them, with a focus on the federal government. I’m drawn to topics where I believe that in-depth, nuanced reporting has the potential to reshape the public’s understanding and to lead to meaningful change.
In recent years, I’ve reported on issues ranging from ethics questions at the Supreme Court to the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
My Background
I’ve been a reporter at ProPublica since 2020.
In 2023, my colleagues and I revealed how a set of billionaires secretly provided decades of lavish gifts and luxury travel to Supreme Court justices. Those stories won the Pulitzer Prize for public service and helped prompt the Supreme Court to adopt its first-ever code of conduct. I have also reported on the military and the U.S. State Department, the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and misconduct by undercover police officers, among other subjects.
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, my work has received national honors including two George Polk Awards, the Selden Ring Award, an Investigative Reporters and Editors medal and an Edward R. Murrow Award. I hold a degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago.
You can reach me via email at [email protected] or by phone, Signal or WhatsApp at 734-834-9383.
Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire
Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,” says one former judge.
Hell at Abbey Gate
In firsthand accounts, Afghan civilians and U.S. Marines describe the desperate struggle to flee through the Kabul airport’s last open entrance.
Texts Show Kimberly Guilfoyle Bragged About Raising Millions for Rally That Fueled Capitol Riot
Messages reviewed by ProPublica represent the strongest indication yet that members of the Trump family inner circle were involved in financing and organizing the Jan. 6 “Save America” rally.
Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia
Rounding up migrants. Lists of “friendly” sheriffs. Debating political assassinations. Internal messages reveal AP3’s journey from Jan. 6 through the tumultuous lead-up to the 2024 election. One member predicts: “It’ll be decided at the ammo box.”
The Militia and the Mole
Outraged by the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover climbing the ranks of right-wing militias. He didn’t tell police or the FBI. He didn’t tell family or friends. The one person he told was a ProPublica reporter.
Harlan Crow Provided Clarence Thomas at Least 3 Previously Undisclosed Private Jet Trips, Senate Probe Finds
The Supreme Court justice flew to Montana and other destinations on the billionaire GOP donor’s dime. Crow’s lawyer revealed these flights to the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose ongoing investigation was sparked by ProPublica’s reporting.
Justice Thomas Acknowledges He Should Have Disclosed Free Trips From Billionaire Donor
The trips include vacations in Indonesia and at the exclusive, men’s-only Bohemian Grove retreat, which were first reported by ProPublica last year.
A “Delicate Matter”: Clarence Thomas’ Private Complaints About Money Sparked Fears He Would Resign
Interviews and newly unearthed documents reveal that Thomas, facing financial strain, privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees.
The Supreme Court Has Adopted a Conduct Code, but Who Will Enforce It?
Experts say it is unclear if the new rules, which come after reporting by ProPublica and others revealed that justices had repeatedly failed to disclose gifts and travel from wealthy donors, would address the issues raised by the recent revelations.
It’s Not Personal: Why Clarence Thomas’ Trip to the Koch Summit Undermines His Ethics Defense
Even by Thomas’ own permissive interpretation, the justice’s recently revealed travel to Palm Springs and the Bohemian Grove appear to violate the disclosure law, experts explained.
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
Clarence Thomas Acknowledges Undisclosed Real Estate Deal With Harlan Crow and Discloses Private Jet Flights
The new filing comes after ProPublica’s reporting on the Supreme Court justice’s beneficial relationship with the billionaire GOP megadonor. Thomas also reported three private jet trips provided by Crow.
Senators Ask Billionaire Paul Singer and Power Broker Leonard Leo for Full Accounting of Gifts to Supreme Court Justices
The letters cite ProPublica’s reporting on an undisclosed private jet flight and Alaska fishing vacation provided to Justice Samuel Alito.
Alito Took Unreported Luxury Trip With GOP Donor Paul Singer
In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.